WHEELING — Hundreds of local residents will be able to enjoy a brighter Easter season this year as the Bethlehem Apostolic Temple Food Ministries is hosting their annual Easter Food Basket Giveaway

The Giveaway is to be held 11 a.m. to noon Saturday, at the North Wheeling Community Dream Center.

The annual event has been known to help hundreds of families in need each year by supplying them with groceries, clothes and various other household supplies, according to Bethlehem Apostolic Temple Pastor Darrell Cummings. He said there are no requirements other than to sign a paper which acknowledges they received a basket of items. He said the only exception is for anyone in need of children’s clothes, the child must be present. Cummings said they will giving away Easter suits and dresses as part of the event.

“We will be happy to help. … We don’t ask for any income proof,” Cummings said.

He said they are expecting a lot of grocery items, including hams, and other items to be delivered to the Dream Center prior to the event.

He said they have received a tremendous amount of support from area sponsors.

With it being a “first come, first serve” based event, it often prompts people to line up outside the Dream Center many hours prior to the doors opening — something Cummings said he doesn’t recommend for safety reasons. With the food basket give-away attracting hundreds of area residents every year, Cummings said it shows the level of need that’s out there in the local community.

He said there are many things that make this such a special community event year-in and year-out. He said, “They say a family that eats together, stays together,” so hopefully for those who may have had a hard winter , struggling to make it through paying winter bills and things of that nature the food basket give-away will provide that extra support that many families need through the Easter season.

“It is community helping community. … Hopefully with this meal, they will come together for an Easter meal that maybe they couldn’t have afforded on their own and it gives them hope for the spring, the summer, the fall and the future, and that brighter days are ahead and that there is a community that cares about them, and most importantly that God cares about them and they’re not in this alone,” Cummings said.

Cummings would like to remind the public that from 4-6 p.m., Thursday, church volunteers will be in front of the Elm Grove Riesbeck’s Food Market accepting canned goods and monetary donations for the temple’s Stuff the Bus program, which will go toward the food basket giveaway.

He said they are still in need of volunteers for the give-away event. For more information or anyone interesting in volunteering for the event, call the church office at 304-233-8899.